Vassalboro is going nude

A while ago I wrote a post about a topless coffee shop in Vassalboro. Turns out the coffee shop is doing so well the owner wants to open up a strip club!

VASSALBORO, Maine — The owner of a topless coffee shop in Vassalboro is setting his sights on opening a strip club.

The Grand View Topless Coffee Shop opened in February over the objections of local residents who opposed the business.

Owner Donald Crabtree told the Kennebec Journal that he now plans to seek a entertainment license for a strip club that would be open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. and have a seating capacity of 300.

His plans are likely to face opposition. In response to complaints about the coffee shop, the Vassalboro town manager has a drafted a proposed adult entertainment ordinance that would ban nudity at local businesses.

Officials say the coffee shop wouldn't be affected by the ordinance because it already has a town permit. - from the Associated Press

What shocked me was not that the dude wanted to open a strip club in Vassalboro -- but that he wanted to keep it open from 6 am to 1 am! Who needs to see boobies at 7 am? Don't people have to go to work? And 300 seats!? Good grief! Sounds like people in Vassalboro are hard up for some action...

Coffee and a side of boob

This story out of Vassalboro, Maine, is making the rounds on national news sites like MSNBC, CNN, the AP, Boston Globe, and US News & World Report. What's all the hype? A new coffee shop in town where the servers go topless.

As a retired professional waitress, I know the perils of not being adequately covered when dealing with hot liquids and baked goods. There is a reason wait staff is supposed to wear shirts -- how would you like it if a stray armpit hair ended up atop your muffin? Or in your hot cocoa?

Regardless of personal hygene, the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop had over 150 applicants and hired 10 women and men. Either people in Vassalboro are over exhibitionist or they really need a job.

Donald Crabtree faced initial opposition to his plan, but he won the right to go ahead in a planning board hearing last week. Many local residents were irate over the idea of combining coffee and nudity. Crabtree, however, saw a profitable business venture.

"I know what people want," he said. "People like nudity, and coffee is profitable. Sure, I'd start a coffee shop, but I'd be out of work in a week." - from CNN

Boy -- this man is an entrepreneurial genius. And classy! Check him out in the video below:



I'm all for creative ways to bring jobs into rural areas. And I'm not opposed to the topless coffee shop. I do wonder, however, what their heating bill is like during the winter with all these half-naked people running around....